


the start of the rest of their lives

by prouveyrac



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, carey loves killian and killian is a huge softie, this is very soft and very gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouveyrac/pseuds/prouveyrac
Summary: When Magnus gave her Killian’s ring, she wasn’t looking for a statement. She wasn’t looking for something to scream about an expensive ceremony and months of stress and planning. She just wanted something to show that she and Killian lived and breathed and loved, and lived and breathed together and loved each other. It was simple and straightforward and, really, it was enough.Just having Killian by her side was enough, and would always be enough.





	the start of the rest of their lives

**Author's Note:**

> so i would like to thank griffin mcelroy for the amazing realtionship that is killian and carey, aka team sweet flips. as a lesbian, it means a lot to me and also makes my gay heart warm and soft <333
> 
> im also a firm believer that killian is a huge softie

Carey wasn’t nervous. Carey was a dragonborn of  _ many _ talents, most of which being feats that no ordinary person would even try to attempt; she chose to dedicate her life to doing sweet fucking flips and being around weird, powerful, terrifying Grand Relics that had the potential to fuck up most people who came even in close  _ proximity _ to them.

So, yeah, Carey wasn’t nervous. Fuck, she could probably deal with worse before breakfast.

She was just proposing to her super cool, totally badass girlfriend that night. Just proposing. On Killian’s birthday. Proposing. No big deal. No big deal at all.

Just, yeah, okay,  _ maybe _ Carey’s stomach twisted a little as she woke up that morning and instinctively turned over to see Killian still sleeping peacefully next to her, her hair falling out of the braid she had put it in the night before, and  _ maybe _ Carey felt her scales itch a bit when a chill ran down her spine at the thought of the ring hidden in the secret compartment of her bedside table, and  _ maybe _ -

Okay, yeah, Carey was nervous. She was a dragonborn of many talents  _ and also _ a fuck load of nerves about the fact that, in the next twenty-four hours, she could very well be planning a wedding with the love of her life.

It wasn’t like she was nervous Killian was going to say _ no _ . Funnily enough, that was the last thing on her mind. She loved Killian, and Killian loved her, and that was that. They had even discussed engagement before and came to the conclusion that, yes, they would be more than okay with spending their lives together.

What was nerve wracking was everything else. Carey didn’t particularly think of herself as a romantic, but she’d be damned if this day didn’t go fucking  _ perfectly _ . For one, it was Killian’s birthday, and Killian deserved a good day. Two, she was  _ proposing tonight  _ and if _ that  _ couldn’t go right, then what would?

Also, she now really had to work on not tipping Killian off. Yes, Carey might be a _ rogue  _ dragonborn of many talents, at least half of those talents being secretive rogue things, but Killian was  _ Killian _ and Killian knew Carey better than anyone else, maybe even better than Carey herself. Killian just always knew when something was up with Carey and, even if it took her longer than she wanted to admit to put down all her walls and let Killian in, she appreciated that more than she could ever say.

Just… having a girlfriend who could immediately tell when something was up was very inconveniencing when the “something up” was a proposal.

Now, Carey wasn’t shitting on her own skills as a rogue. She was  _ very good  _ at what she did, thank you very much. But it was the little things that Killian picked up on, like when Carey cut up her hand on one of her (many) attempts at carving the duck box. It wasn’t anything enough to be serious but, of course, Killian noticed.

“Please tell me you’re not having Magnus come at you with knives,” Killian had said to her when Carey got back to their room after Magnus’ training. She had been holding Carey’s hand gently (Killian was always so gentle off of the field; not a lot of people got to see that side of her, with being a badass regulator and all, but Carey saw it and loved it more each and every time), as if the wounds were actually serious and not the equivalent to a couple papercuts.

Carey had scoffed. “Like he could even get a cut on me.” Killian had then given Carey a look that said _ No Bullshit  _ and Carey huffed. “Did you know that Magnus was a carpenter? He’s helping me out with some stuff.”

Killian had huffed out a laugh with a shake of her head. “What do you need Magnus to teach you _ carpentry _ for?”

Carey had shrugged and just said, “Because why not? I should get something out of training him, too.”

And Carey was getting something, in fact: a ring and a best friend.

But that was beside the point.

So maybe that one conversation wasn’t enough to tip Killian in the direction of _ proposal _ , but it could’ve been enough to tip her off to  _ something _ , right? If Killian knew that Carey was learning carpentry with Magnus, then she could connect the dots to Carey learning how to make _ something _ , and then that something could be connected to a gift, and that gift could be connected to Killian’s birthday, and then Killian’s birthday could _ probably _ be connected to a proposal because-

Okay, yeah, maybe Carey was overreacting, but she was a bit nervous and the ring was hidden in a table that was literally a foot away from them and Killian was asleep so it wasn’t like Carey had anything else to distract her thoughts with and if Angus was here, he would already know the size of Killian’s ring and-

Carey huffed out a quiet sigh in hopes of not waking Killian while also accurately summarizing her feeling of  _ well, fuck _ .

She was thankful, so thankful, when Magnus gave her that ring. It wasn’t even like Carey had to ask for it, Magnus just knew.

Carey was so thankful, and so happy, and so ready to spend the rest of her life with Killian, and she wanted this— _ needed _ this—to go right more than anything else in the world.

It was then that Killian shifted in her place in the bed, scrunching her face before cracking open one eye to take a tired, and barely conscious, look at Carey.

“Happy birthday,” Carey said quietly with a smile and Killian, pulling their blanket tighter around her, made a noise in the back of her throat as her eye slipped shut again.

“M’thanks,” Killian mumbled. Her voice was barely understandable as she seemed very keen on going immediately back to sleep but, after a moment, she reached an arm out for Carey, opening up the immediate space next to her in.

Carey smiled and moved closer, letting Killian wrap her arm (and the blanket) snug around her.

“We have the whole day to do whatever,” Carey said, her voice so soft it barely filled the room. Outside their window, activity was just beginning to wake up with them. She could hear some voices out on the Quad, most likely heading for breakfast or an early morning training session.

Carey didn’t know how they managed it, but both hers and Killian’s schedule lined up so that they would have the day off. There were currently no Relics that needed to be chased after, they had already done the bulk of their training, and it wasn’t like they had obligations with any other people.

Carey really, truly had the entire day with Killian, and her smile only widened at the warmth that spread through her.

Fuck, she’s gone soft.

Killian hummed in acknowledgement and buried her face further in her pillow. 

“So what do you want to do?”

“Sleep.” Killian’s voice was muffled. “Sleep and nothing.” 

Carey laughed softly, quietly. “Then how about I go get us something to eat,” she said. She tilted her head up slightly to press a kiss to Killian’s jaw. “And you can stay here and sleep and do nothing.”

Killian cracked an eye open again. “So I need to move again so that you can leave.”

“Yep.” Carey popped the  _ p. _

“You’re making me do a lot of moving, Fangbattle.”

“Oh, I know, how  _ terrible _ it is to have to move your arm  _ again _ so I can go get us something as dumb as _ food _ , how  _ awful- _ ”

Killian all but shoved Carey away from her. “Actually, yeah, do that, leave,” she said, burying herself back in the blankets and pillows, and Carey could hear the smile in her voice.

Carey laughed and rolled herself out of the bed. She tugged on the closest tank-top she could find on the floor (and, judging from the size, she was pretty positive it was Killian’s) and decided that it wasn’t  _ too  _ obvious that she’d been wearing the same pair of leggings for five days now. After discreetly checking the bedside table one last time under the guise of looking for their keys, she straightened up and, on her way out, looked back over her shoulder at her sleeping girlfriend.

“I love you,” she said, and Killian grunted back, which Carey took as Killian saying the same.

Carey smiled and released a content sigh, taking in the sight of Killian one last time, half asleep and hair messy and  _ absolutely breathtaking _ , before stepping out and closing the door behind her.

Fuck, she’s gone  _ really  _ soft.

Which is exactly what she shouted at Magnus when she walked past him (and Merle and Taako) begrudgingly heading over to their morning training.

Magnus, leading the pack and knowing exactly what Carey was planning, winked at her. “You good, Care?”

“I’ve gone fucking soft, Mags,” she said, smirking and shaking her head as she brushed past the three reclaimers. “I used to be so kickass.”

Magnus laughed, calling back to her, “You’ll get back there eventually.”

(“What was that about?” she barely heard Taako ask, and receive no answer. Carey appreciated Magnus keeping his mouth shut. She was freaking out enough over spilling her own secret; she didn’t have the energy to worry about anyone else spilling it.)

After being able to secure two plates full of Killian’s favorite scones from the Bureau’s cafeteria without getting too many weird looks, Carey’s nervous energy began to fade into excitement.

She was proposing tonight! To Killian! Her girlfriend! Her totally kickass girlfriend! Which was fucking awesome!

When she got back to their dorm, managing to balance the plates while also unlocking the door, Killian looked like she had just woken up for the second time. She was sat up this time and running a hand through her now-untied hair. At the sight of Carey and the plates, her movements stilled and, with raised eyebrows, she began to laugh.

“What?” Carey asked, already smiling, and bumped the door closed with her hip.

“Are we gonna starve or something?” Killian was beaming, and tilted her head up to look at Carey as she walked closer.

“It’s your  _ birthday. _ ”

“I’m aware.”

“I obviously have to give you the best for your birthday,” Carey said, smiling back. She presented one of the plates to Killian. “So, scones.”

Killian laughed and, after a moment’s pause, took the plate. “So is this all I should be expecting today?” she asked, taking a scone and biting into it. “Not that I’m really a gift person, but-”

“For all you know, yes,” Carey said with a wink before biting into a scone of her own. She rocked back and forth as Killian looked up to her with narrowed eyes, setting her plate on the side table.

“I got my eye on you, Fangbattle,” she said, leaning back on her free hand.

“And  _ I  _ have my eye on a take-out menu for tonight.”

Killian smirked and rolled her eyes. “Couldn’t even keep that a secret, could you?” she teased. “You know, for a rogue, you’re pretty shit at surprises.”

Carey grinned and shrugged. “Hey, I try my best!”

* * *

 

Much to both Carey and Killian’s delight, they were able to stick to the rule of _we-will-not-leave-this-room-unless-the-world-is-ending-or-we-need-food._ After finishing their breakfast and then falling back into bed to sleep more and then some and then getting up to shower and then some more, they relocated from the bed to the floor, dragging all of their (many) pillows and blankets with them.

“Tell me again, why the floor?” Killian asked, dropping the last of the spare pillows from the closet.

“Because it feels more productive to say that we actually moved around instead of staying in bed all day,” Carey answered, propping the pillows up in neat piles. “And, besides, we could never do this in my room.”

“Yeah, because you can barely see the floor in your room.”

Carey shrugged, grinning. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “This is basically my room, too.”

Carey then watched as Killian pulled her long, wet hair up into a mussed bun and grabbed her keys from the side table. “Babe, are you sure you don’t actually want to do something for your birthday?” Carey continued, eyeing her. “I know this place doesn’t have much, but we could probably convince Avi to let us down in Neverwinter or something.”

Killian smiled down at Carey and reached her hand out. Carey took it and, immediately, they laced their fingers together. “I like doing nothing on my days off,” she said. “And I like doing nothing with you. Getting fantasy pizza for take out and chilling in this dorm—on this  _ floor _ —doing nothing is the best birthday I could ask for.”

Carey snorted. “You’re such a sap.”

“And yet you still love me,” Killian said with a wink before turning on her heel.

“You know I do,” Carey called after her as Killian walked out.

Once the door shut behind Killian, Carey released a deep breath.

She had, at most, ten minutes to get her shit together.

Which, necessarily, wasn’t awful. Really, what she had to do was move the six or seven feet it would take to get to the bedside table, get into the hidden compartment, get the duck box, walk back the six or seven feet, and sit down. All very simple. Would probably take her, at most, forty seconds.

Which would leave her a solid nine minutes and twenty seconds to get her heart rate down to a normal level.

Because, as Carrie has been over many times with herself already, she was excited, yes, and also incredibly nervous.

And now she was already wasting time. Killian was probably already in the elevator heading down and that meant that she now had, what, nine minutes and thirty seconds? Ridiculous.

Carey huffed and pushed herself up out of the nest of pillows she made. She crossed the room and pulled open the drawer of the bedside table. Sticking her hand in, she easily unlatched the hidden compartment in the back corner (a sliding door that seemed just like any other plank in the drawer only to lead into a small niche carved into the leg of the table) and, when her fingers traced the smooth curve of the box, her heart nearly lodged itself in her throat.

She took one, final deep breath before retrieving the box. It was small, inconspicuous, and duck shaped (with the head carved by Magnus, the butt done by Carey). Honestly, Killian would probably just be happy with the box itself. She found ducks so cute, the box could be enough to satisfy her alone.

Carey, of course, had different plans, and she hoped Killian found the rosewood ring inside just as pleasing as the duck box.

Carey reminded herself to buy Magnus at least ten rounds of drinks after this.

Okay, maybe her and Magnus were even after she trained him, but still. He carved her a fucking  _ engagement ring _ that she was going to use _ tonight _ to _ propose _ . Magnus had proved himself to not only be an amazing best friend, but also an amazing wing man. Getting completely trashed was what he deserved.

Carey, remembering that it was crunch time, shook off thoughts of Magnus and went back to her pillow alcove. She flopped down, forever grateful to have comfortable and supportive pillows, and stared down at the box. After a moment of once again tracing it’s curves and edges, Carey flipped open the box.

She smiled to herself.

The ring was gorgeous and, upon comparison to Killian’s other rings, exactly Killian’s size.

The rose was small and simple, and the wood polished. It wasn’t anything too fancy or flashy, and Carey appreciated that. She didn’t want all the pomp and flare; “pomp and flare” wasn’t Killian and Carey. They didn’t live lives where they could splurge on weddings and take weeks off for honeymoons. They didn’t live flashy lives. They lived dangerously and, as edgy and cool as it sounded, Carey felt that simplicity worked best. When Magnus gave her Killian’s ring, she wasn’t looking for a statement. She wasn’t looking for something to scream about an expensive ceremony and months of stress and planning. She just wanted something to show that she and Killian lived and breathed and loved, and lived and breathed together and loved each other. It was simple and straightforward and, really, it was enough.

Just having Killian by her side was enough, and would always be enough.

Plus, a flashy gem could break so easily in combat, and _then_ where would they be?

With one last look, Carey closed the box and slid it into the pillow case behind her back. It was close enough to be in reach without causing any suspicion; she could just make it look like she was stretching, and the box would be in her hand.

Carey waited for Killian and, suddenly, the assumed probably-seven-minutes she had left seemed much longer than it should, because now she had seven-ish minutes to sit in her thoughts. She tugged her knees up to her chest and rested her head down.

If things went well, Carey would be engaged by the end of the night. 

It wasn’t like she had many doubts. It was just… a big thought to handle. A big thought that Carey ran to with arms wide open, but, nonetheless, a colossal fucking thought.

A colossal fucking thought that was very, very exciting.

Carey smiled to herself again, unable to keep herself composed. 

She was proposing tonight.

As she waited, her nervous and excited energy only grew and, after what felt like literal ages, Carey finally slid a look to the clock ticking on the wall, and narrowed her eyes when she saw that Killian had already been gone for fifteen minutes. Something sunk in her chest; Carey had timed things like this enough to be nearly exact each time, and to know that something perhaps as trivial as just a backed-up order was enough to delay the rest of her life (technically) only further prompted her impatience.

It wasn’t for another ten minutes until Carey jolted at hearing the door knob click and turn. For one final reassurance, she quickly brushed her hand over the hidden duck box and then, feigning stretching, grinned at Killian as she walked in balancing a box with a small paper bag on it.

“Sorry, sorry,” Killian was saying in lieu of a greeting, kicking the door closed. “It’s like everyone’s out tonight. I saw Avi while I was walking down there, so of course I stopped to talk to him for a little bit and- and then I saw Magnus, who I didn’t even think  _ knew _ it was my birthday, but word travels, I guess, and then I ran into Johann on the way back and he gave me another mixtape? So, like, cool, I guess, and-” She huffed and, sitting back down on their set-up of pillows and blankets, set the fantasy pizza box in between them and grinned at Carey. “Basically, sorry I made you wait.”

Carey waved a hand. “It’s fine. You’re popular, I get it,” she said with a wink.

Killian laughed and shook her head. “Yeah, totally,” she said with a touch of sarcasm. Taking two plates out, she handed one across to Carey before opening up the take-out box.

Carey, wordlessly, accepted the plate, unable to keep her eyes off of Killian.

Killian, seeming to sense the eyes on her, looked up at Carey and raised an eyebrow. A small smile was creeping onto her face. “You good, Care?”

To get down on one knee- it wouldn’t work. For one, they were both already sitting. That would just be awkward. Second off, something about that didn’t seem very _ Killian and Carey _ to Carey. When she knew weeks ago that she was going to ask Killian to be her wife, she didn’t picture it happening as a grand gesture. She didn’t picture literal fireworks and string quartets, an elaborate plan and a watching crowd.

She pictured it like this: happening with ease, perfectly fitting into the natural order of their day. Just like how Killian fit neatly into Carey’s life, she wanted their life together to begin just as smoothly.

Carey just smiled and tilted her head slightly. “I love you.”

Killian snorted and rolled her eyes, though her flushed face didn’t go unnoticed. “That’s pretty gay, Carey.”

Carey laughed and shrugged. “It happens.”

“I love you, too,” Killian said, smiling. They were words Carey had heard so many times before and it was the same smile that she saw every day, yet her still heart leaped in her chest.

It was a little while later, when Killian was setting aside the take-out box and their plates, rambling about one of her more recent training sessions, that Carey decided to do it.

“-and, listen, I know you weren’t there, Madame Director had you somewhere else, but Avi? He almost had me, right? And I wanted to give him shit for it because he always holds back against Magnus, Taako, and Merle, but he was really trying to kick my ass! I got the upper hand eventually but- okay, okay, why are you looking at me like that?”

Carey blinked. “Like what?”

“Like  _ that, _ ” Killian said and a laugh bubbled out of Carey, only prompting Killian to laugh, too.

“Like  _ what? _ ”

“All soft and shit,” Killian said. “I don’t think what I’m saying is that interesting or- or romantic, either.”

Carey rolled her eyes but still smiled fondly. “Am I not allowed to be interested in what you’re saying?”

“Well, you are, but-” Killian trailed off with a shrug and another laugh.

“Well, I  _ do _ have a gift for you, so maybe I’m excited about that, too.”

Killian sent her a glare that had no heat or malice behind it. Carey just smiled and shrugged. “You really didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Maybe,” Carey said. “But you’re my awesome, amazing, totally badass girlfriend, so I got you a gift anyway.”

Killian huffed, though she couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her face. “Such a romantic.”

“Oh, you don’t even know,” Carey said and, despite the nerves that rattled inside her and the way her heart felt ready to pound out of her, she reached behind her and uncovered the duck box. The great thing about the box being, well,  _ a duck _ , and not an actual square box, was that it was inconspicuous. It didn’t look like “oh shit you’re about to get married.” It just looked like “hey! it’s a duck!”

Which is exactly the reaction Killian had when Carey carefully handed her the duck box (that Killian didn’t even know was a box yet). Killian gasped (which Carey found incredibly adorable) and cupped the wooden duck in her hands. “Oh my god,” she said, excitement barely contained in her voice. “This is adorable!”

Carey laughed, Killian’s excitement only adding to her own. “Magnus helped me make it,” she explained. “He wanted to help me out after I helped him.”

“That explains him knowing it’s my birthday,” Killian said, absent-minded as she traced her thumb over the carvings.

It also explained why Magnus knew about a lot of other things, but Carey digressed. She didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

In Killian’s observations, her thumb paused when it came into contact with the hinges at the back of the duck. She furrowed her eyebrows and tilted the duck to get a better look, and it seemed like then was when she noticed the thin line running around the entirety of the duck. “Does it… open?” she asked, eyeing Carey suspiciously.

Carey smirked. “Maybe.”

“I’m gonna be really upset if you put a trap in this duck.”

Carey laughed, shaking her head. “Yeah, happy birthday, Killian! Have a smoke bomb in a cute little duck box.”

Killian grinned. “You say that as if you wouldn’t do it.”

“I promise that it’s not a trap,” she said, shifting closer to Killian. She smiled up at her and, once their eyes met, Killian’s smile softened. “Come on, open it.”

“Okay, okay!” Killian said, laughing, and, looking down, opened the box.

Carey, anxiously and eagerly, waited.

Killian, eyes down on the open box, stared. To Carey’s surprise, she noted the immediate, if slight, red-rimming on Killian’s eyes. With a shaking hand, Killian took the rosewood ring out of the box and looked up to Carey with wide, glistening eyes.

“Killian,” Carey began, smiling.

“ _ Oh my god. _ ”

“You, Killian, are the love of my life and-”

“Yes, oh my god-”

“Hey!” Carey interrupted, grinning. “You have to at least let me finish! I’ve had this planned!” Killian nodded over and over, letting out a watery laugh as Carey reached out and took the box out of her hand, replacing it with her own. She squeezed Killian’s hand tightly as Killian, grinning, kept looking back and forth between Carey and the ring she gently held in her other hand.

“Killian, you are the love of my life,” Carey began again, softly, smiling, “And, not to be as cliche and soft as fuck-” Killian let out another laugh and Carey couldn’t help but laugh, too “-but I have known that for a long, long time. I mean, how could I not? How could I meet this beautiful, badass…  _ wonderful  _ woman, and not fall head-over-heels in love with her?

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Killian. I know our lives are already crazy—I mean, we  _ do _ live on a fake moon—but, dammit, I want to live this crazy life with you and- and if we ever finally get off this thing, I want to spend those years with you, too.” Carey swallowed thickly, finding herself getting choked up as well. “I love you with every ounce of my being, Killian, and I don’t know if words can ever sum all of that up. But… but I think this can at least help. Killian-” Carey then paused, beaming at Killian, who looked up at her with tears in her eyes “-Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

Killian, now crying, nodded over and over. “Such a sap,” she was saying, her voice shaking with laughter and emotions, “Such a fucking sap. Yes, of course, yes, yes,  _ yes- _ ”

Carey laughed, leaning in and pressing a kiss to the bridge of Killian’s nose. “Says the one crying,” she murmured, though she wouldn’t deny the tears in the corners of her own eyes. “Always knew you were soft.”

“Shut up, _ oh my god, _ I love you so much-”

Carey beamed and, carefully, gently, took the ring from Killian and slid it onto her left ring finger. “There,” she said, interlacing her fingers with Killian’s. She pressed another kiss to the ring and Killian giggled—actually  _ giggled _ —and scrubbed at her eyes. “It’s official.”

Killian, hooking one hand behind Carey’s neck, pulled her in for a kiss. It was more laughing and cupping each other’s face than kissing and, honestly, wasn’t one of their best ones, but it was so  _ them  _ and so  _ perfect  _ and Carey felt like her heart was swelling in her chest.

“I love you,” she said, pulling away from Killian. “I love you so much, holy  _ fuck _ , Killian, I love you-”

Killian laughed, squeezing Carey’s hand. She turned their held hands, admiring the ring. “And now we’re fiancés!”

“And now we’re fucking fiancés!” Carey exclaimed, laughing, and all but tackled Killian down into their makeshift pillow-blanket nest, knocking her over to kiss her again and again and  _ again. _

* * *

 

“So, how hard was it for you to keep this a secret?” Killian asked a little while later. The two were curled up in each other’s arms, a blanket tugged up around them and various items of clothing strewn about. Killian was resting with her head on Carey’s chest and Carey was gently carding her fingers through Killian’s hair, which had long since fallen out of the messy bun it was tied into.

“Well, Magnus knew, so that made it easier, because at least someone besides me knew,” Carey said, her voice soft. “Really, it was making sure that  _ I  _ didn’t fuck it up. Like, did you know that the ring was in our bedside table the entire time?”

“Really?”

Carey hummed in affirmation. “Yeah. When you were out one day, I also enlisted Magnus to come in and help me make a trap. Well, he did the carving. I made the actual trap because, like, making traps has been my thing for a  _ very _ long time.”

Killian nodded. “Well, you did a damn good job at hiding this,” she said, examining her ring again. “I didn’t expect a thing.”

Carey let out a quiet laugh. “Did you really think I would just get you a duck for your birthday?”

“You say that as if I wouldn’t be happy with just a duck,” Killian said, also laughing. “But, really, I didn’t expect  _ anything _ . I expected just a chill night.”

“Well, guess I really threw you for a loop, huh?”

Killian nodded, looking up to Carey. “Oh, definitely,” she said, grinning.

Carey smiled down at her and craned her neck to kiss Killian’s forehead. “I don’t know if Madame Director will give us off time to plan a wedding,” she murmured.

Killian chuckled. “Hey, at least we know we have a while to plan one.”

“Maybe we can get Merle to officiate for us.”

“We can turn to him in the middle of a huge fight and ask him to marry us then and there.”

“Nothing says romance like being married in the midst of violence.”

“Fucking right,” Killian agreed and the two naturally high-fived. Killian took Carey’s hand, tugging it close to her. She ran her thumb over the top, tracing gentle lines. “We’re engaged,” she said after a couple moments of peaceful silence. Her voice was quiet and soft and Carey revelled in it.

“We are,” she whispered back.

“We’re getting married,” Killian said. Leaning her head up, she placed a kiss to Carey’s neck. “And I love you so much,” she murmured.

“And I love you, too,” Carey said, and pulled Killian closer to her.

And if they stayed in their makeshift nest of pillows and blankets until morning came, just talking and sharing ideas until finally falling asleep in each other’s arms, then so be it. They did have a lot to plan, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!! kudos and comments are appreciated :) <3
> 
> actuallygansey.tumblr.com


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